Rootella should not be adopted because a brochure sounds persuasive. It should be adopted where a farmer can see a clear purpose, compare an untreated area, and decide from the whole farming picture whether it belongs.
That has meant contacting growers, advisers, farmer networks and people who understand the practical constraints of a working farm. We have shared the Italy work, explained what Rootella is intended to support in the root zone, and looked for an honest first setting in which learning matters as much as marketing.
A useful trial needs an agreed comparison, simple records, and a shared commitment to report limits as well as promise. It may include observations of establishment, rooting, crop condition and, where possible, independently interpretable sampling. We want the farmer’s experience to be part of the evidence, not an afterthought.
We are still inviting United Kingdom growers, agricultural advisers and research partners who would like to explore a measured Rootella trial. The aim is modest and durable: find out where it helps, where it does not, and what a better soil partnership can look like in practice.
Draft note: this entry records outreach and trial design work; it makes no claim that a United Kingdom trial has yet been completed.
The Green Campus Journal chronicles the latest entries from all green teams.
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Here I tell the story of the people and processes that won the final debate of the 200th aniversary of The Oxford Union on the motion: This House Would Go Vegan. The effort was intended to shine a light on the arguments of Dr. Sailesh Rao and Gerard Wedderburn-Bisshop that insist we must include the Carbon opportunity Cost of deforestation, the carbon that can not be sequestered by forests that are cut down, in the IPCC and therefore national carbon accounting conventions. Including COC in Carbon accounting conventions shows that livestock is responsible for 87% of Global Temperature Change Potential and focusing on fossil fuels is actually speeding up climate change. The event allowed us to meet researchers at Oxford who argue for and against the position and yet we continue our work to find written arguments against the position which was won on the day. We are very Grateful to The Oxford Union for supporting this event and allowing us to use it to shine a light into this all important place. The story follows:
"There is no reason for Beavers to Exist!" - Charlie Baker, Chair of The Arun and Rother Rivers Trust
Reforest Party (aka Restoration Weekends - NB the big ones are timed on the celestial dates not weekends) tickets are on sale at create.green/party
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